Ukraine's High Specialized Court has upheld the four-year prison sentence of a former interior minister.

The court's April 3 ruling decreased the amount of financial compensation Yuriy Lutsenko has to pay to the state from 643,000 hryvnyas ($77,800) to 609,000 hryvnyas ($73,700).

Lutsenko is expected to complete his four-year prison sentence in December 2014.

He was arrested in December 2010 and sentenced last year for abuse of office, and ordering illegal surveillance of suspects while investigating the poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko before his victory in the 2004 presidential election.

Lutsenko denies any wrongdoing, saying his imprisonment is politically motivated.

U.S. and EU officials have urged the Ukrainian authorities to release Lutsenko, calling his case an example of selective justice.